1. “Alcohol and drug prevention among youth in St. Petersburg”
Anna Skvortsova, project coordinator
Information and Analyses Center for Social and Health NGOs
St. Petersburg, Russia
EG on SIHLWA Sixth Meeting
Oslo, Norway
30 September-1 October, 2008

2. Summary of the project :
Start: November 2007, end: December 2008 (1st phase)
Funding: Nordic Council of Ministers & MoFA/Finland
Partners: In St. Petersburg - IAC NGOs, Stellit, “View of the Future”, Drug Abuse Prevention Center (Peer-to-peer movement “Rovesnik”)
In Finland – Finnish Centre for Health Prevention; National Public Health Institute; A-Clinic Foundation
Activities:
1. Working with young people: Together with the schools and colleges - preventive programs and organized actions (monthly action “Independence Day” – health promotion and alcohol prevention among young people, using play methods and creating motivation to healthy lifestyle; peer-to-peer program “Discovery” - prevention of addictive behavior; Health Councils in the schools)
2. Media seminars and
3. Decision makers seminars – awareness raising about growing risks caused by alcohol and drug related problems

3. Activity report (Nov. 2007-Aug. 2008)
Stakeholder analysis: report published by Stellit (31 July, 2008)
Seminars for schools:
Stellit: March 2008, seminar for 9 schools of Nevsky district, with participation of 2 Finnish specialists
Pedagogical councils in the schools and technical colleges:
Center for Drug Prevention / Rovesnik: 1 meeting of the pedagogical council for 30 teachers (Railway technical college)
Stellit: 9 meetings of the Health councils in 9 schools of Nevsky district
Classes on alcohol and drug prevention in schools, technical colleges, Nov May 08 - Center for Drug Prevention / Rovesnik: 3 classes, 431 students involved
Trainings in the schools, technical colleges: Nov May 08
Center for Drug Prevention / Rovesnik: 4 trainings, 80 volunteers
“View of the Future”: 2 trainings for trainers for volunteers
Supervision for volunteers: Center for Drug Prevention / Rovesnik: 12 supervision groups for 15 volunteers each
Interactive prevention actions in schools of 3 districts, Mar.-May08: “View of the Future”: 10 Independence Days, 900 pupils involved
Public action: “View of the Future”: 1 public action,

4. “Independence Day” (sch. # 195, 24.4.08)

5. Activity report 2 Media seminars: Seminar for local decision makers:
1st media seminar “Young people and alcohol” - May, 22, organized together with Regional Press Institute, for 10 journalists (including 2 Finnish journalists). Media research presented. 5 articles published after seminar
2nd seminar “Young people, alcohol and advertising” – October (second day as a part of the Forum “Social Petersburg-2008”)
Seminar for local decision makers:
1st seminar December, 3-5, 2008 – study trip to Helsinki for 10 local politicians

6. Alcohol used by pop stars (КП №14, АиФ №8)
Main focus of the articles where young people & alcohol have been mentioned (St. Petersburg’ newspapers) – (Media research of Centre for Independent Social Research)
Alcohol as a reason of criminal behavior of young people (АИФ №8, АИФ №8, КП№2т, КП№25, СПб ведомости №29)
Alcohol used by pop stars (КП №14, АиФ №8)
Alcohol as a part of leisure time of young people (КП № 28, АиФ№7)
“Story” – confession on getting rid of alcohol’ dependency (Час пик№3)
Excessive drinking as a “trait of national Russian character” (МК №9, 24 часа №5, КП№2 т, КП №14)
Alcohol as one of the main reasons of accidents and suicides among young people (АИФ №7, КП №24, Метро №18)
Alcohol use as deviation (not typical for all young people) (Метро №20)

7. Summary of media research
PROBLEMS:
Almost no articles about alcohol problem,
Especially about young people and alcohol
Texts sporadic, often scandalous
Texts mostly critical or negative, rarely – positive in a meaning of looking for solutions, awareness raising etc., or analytical
REASONS:
Media policy
Marginal character of alcohol as a social problem – from the point of view of those who pay
Alcohol as “too ordinary” problem (too common, less interesting, noting “special”)
Lack of “information reasons” (events) and lack of citizens’ activity (almost no NGOs in alcohol prevention)
Complexity of the problem, lack of valid data, and ethic dilemma (“Right to write on healthy lifestyle – only for abstainers?”)
SOLUTIONS:
Working with editors
Training of the journalists (updated information, new solutions)
More discussions on professional ethics
Necessity in cooperation among media and journalists
More skills in understanding of specifics of young audience
New topics, forms, genres, topics, points of view…
Creating of information space friendly to alternative lifestyles
Including electronic media into focus

8. National alcohol policy necessary:
Head state sanitary doctor of RF Gennady Onischenko*:
Alcohol and tobacco are the main cause of mortality of male population (low quality alcohol , “double use” = household products of chemistry, hazardous drinking - also young people involved)
Documented consumption of alcoholic beverages, absolute alcohol, per capita: 1990 – 5,38 liters; 2005 – 9,7 liters (1,8 X more)
+ Unrecorded consumption (= real consumption): 15 l (100% alc.)
Comparing with 1998, in 2006 production of low-alcohol beverages increased 6 times, beer production – 3 times
Worrying tendencies: increasing consumption of alcohol by young people (today first trial of alcohol happens in age 11-15) and by women
Earlier (in 2005) Gennady Onischenko underlined that our legislation provides possibilities for abusive drinking of young generation (beer and light alcohol drinks are by legislation not an alcohol). Beer advertising is very aggressive and it strongly influences lifestyle of young people.
Summary: State monopoly for alcohol necessary. National alcohol policy in RF necessary. Media: more attention needs to be paid to harmful effect of alcohol, to promotion of healthy lifestyle. Schools: special programs necessary on harmful effect of alcohol consumption and on healthy LS.
* - Rospotrebnadzor Resolution # 7 / “On strengthening of a control of production and distribution of alcohol beverages”

9. Focus of the 2nd media seminar “Young people, alcohol and advertising”:
New initiatives of Russian government (federal program on healthy lifestyle)
Updated information on alcohol and young people (A-clinic Foundation, Helsinki, and Medical Academy of Post-gradual study, SPb)
Alcohol advertising - The Kännikapina project (”Rebellion against drunkenness”) run by Raittiuden Ystävät (Good Templars), Helsinki
Discussion forum for the Finnish and St. Petersburg’ journalists
Second day – as a part of the forum “Social Petersburg-2008” (roundtable on prevention)

10. Plans for seminar for local politicians
December 3-5, 2008
As a study tour to Helsinki
Participants - officials from City administration (Committee for labor and social protection of population, C. for education); officials from Youth department and Education dept. of 2 city districts; hopefully representative from Ministry for health and social development; project partners from Russia and Finland
Focus: National healthy lifestyle program in Finland, alcohol policy, Network of "Youth workshops" organized by Ministry of Education in Helsinki (for school-drop outs to get them back to society); and / or project of Helsinki city social services “KLAARI” (local teams of youth workers, police, schools – control of access to alcohol for young people).

11. Contacts in St. Petersburg :
Information and Analyses Center for Social and Health NGOs: Anna Skvortsova, , ,
Stellit: Olga Kolpakova, ,
Look to the Future: Anna Khmyrova, ,
Drug Abuse Prevention Center: Marina Orlova, ,

12. Thank you for attention!